Judge orders Hernandez's cousin held on $15,000 cash bail

Prosecutors say Aaron Hernandez’s cousin, Tanya Singleton, spoke with Hernandez's alleged accomplice Carlos Ortiz about helping Ortiz travel to Puerto Rico after Odin Lloyd’s murder on June 17. Singleton is also accused of discarding a cellphone in her name that Ernest Wallace, another ...

Singleton is also accused of discarding a cellphone in her name that Ernest Wallace, another alleged accomplice, is said to have used to speak with Hernandez and Lloyd on the night of the murder, prosecutors said during a Thursday bail hearing at Fall River Superior Court.

Dressed in a Suffolk County House of Correction uniform, Singleton, who is charged with conspiracy and criminal contempt, was ordered held on $15,000 cash bail. First Assistant District Attorney William McCauley had asked Judge E. Susan Garsh to set bail at $100,000 cash.

“The bail is set at a high amount and the conditions are very stringent, so we are not displeased,” said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

Singleton’s lawyer, E. Peter Parker, who had asked for Singleton to be released on personal recognizance, questioned prosecutors’ decision to charge her with conspiracy to commit accessory after the fact, arguing that she did not assist the principal defendant, Hernandez, 23, who is charged with murder and firearm offenses.

In addition to allegedly discarding a cellphone, which has not been recovered, prosecutors said they believe Wallace, 44, used a different cellphone to communicate with Singleton after the murder. Prosecutors have also said Singleton drove Wallace, 44, to Georgia, and then helped him buy a bus ticket to his family’s house in Miramar, Fla., where local police later arrested him.

Prosecutors also said Singleton invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when called twice to testify before the grand jury, and that she refused to answer questions even after being granted immunity. A judge held her in contempt, prosecutors said.

Parker said he had not seen any evidence about the cellphone or Puerto Rico conversation. He also questioned whether helping someone travel violated the accessory statute.

Parker also said Singleton has no criminal record and did not know that Wallace and Ortiz were being investigated for Lloyd’s murder when she tried to assist them.

Singleton also has no means to flee, said Parker, who added that his client is disabled, on public assistance and, while incarcerated, she has been transported to a hospital to undergo chemotherapy for breast cancer.

“She seems to be doing okay on that front,” said Parker, who added that Singleton has two young sons — ages 4 and 7 — for whom she is the sole provider.

“She would never dream of taking her children and going on the lam,” said Parker, who added that the contempt charge is “difficult” to sustain when prosecutors pressure witnesses to testify against their loved ones. Parker said other people might have made a similar choice in Singleton’s situation.

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Singleton, a resident of Bristol, Conn., had been held without bail, without prejudice, up until Thursday’s hearing. She is scheduled to return to court Dec. 5 for a status review conference.

If Singleton posts bail, she will be required to live in Bristol County, report to a probation officer twice a week, wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and avoid contact with the victim’s relatives and witnesses. She can communicate with her co-defendants.

Parker said Singleton would not post bail Thursday, but he declined to answer questions if she will be able to post bail soon.

Wallace, 44, who is charged with accessory to murder after the fact, is being held on $500,000 cash bail. Ortiz, 27, of Bristol, Conn., who is also charged with accessory to murder after the fact, is being held without bail, without prejudice, meaning his bail can be revisited at a later date.

Hernandez, the former Patriots star tight end, is being held without bail at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth. Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, 24, of North Attleborough, who is charged with perjury, is free on personal recognizance.